Transport minister orders review after Nazi complaint over bus stop sign

Adelaide bus stop signs bear an uncomfortable resemblance to one of history’s most notorious symbols – now the minister has stepped in after a Jewish leader raised concerns.

The stylised character next to a “hail bus” message on Adelaide bus stops has been questioned by the Jewish community, and will be reviewed by the Transport Department.

The design uses a male character standing in the middle of a road, on the wrong side of the bus, hailing it through the driver’s window with a straight right arm and hand.

Long standing Jewish community leader Norman Schueler did not suggest the design was deliberate, but of the new bus stop designs: “Any form of reviving or glorifying Nazism is abhorrent and in poor taste to say the least”.

“We have some survivors in Adelaide, and if they saw these reincarnations, I can imagine what they might think.”

There is no suggestion that the “hail bus” sign was anything other than an oversight, and is currently being rolled out to replace an older version.

Historically, the Nazi salute – with a similar straight extended right arm and hand – was accompanied the declaration “Heil, mein Führer!”, which translated to English is “Hail, my Leader!”

The bus stop character has the words “Hail bus” next to him.

The "hail bus" sign which has been deemed inappropriate by the Jewish community.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis immediately asked the department to review it.

As the child of Greek migrants, Mr Koutsantonis has been a fierce defender of European minority groups.

“This signage has been in use for three years and I am advised that neither my department nor my office has received any complaints along these lines previously,’’ Mr Koutsantonis said.

“The interpretation raised with me today (Tuesday) about this signage is not one that has ever occurred to me and of course was never the intention of my department.

The transport minister says a bus sign in use in Adelaide for the past three years will be reviewed after a complaint from a distinguished member of the Jewish community.

“However, Mr Schueler is a distinguished member of South Australia’s Jewish community and I am naturally concerned by the suggestion he has raised, and I will ask my department to review it.”

The use of the generic design in other states has been criticised on social media.

But an error on the Adelaide signs has increased the confusion; with the character not on the footpath and so using his right arm.

Mr Schueler said the error came at a time when the Adelaide Jewish community was battling against a rise in the use of deliberate Nazi symbols via graffiti and posters on Adelaide streets.

Parliament is currently investigating if these should be banned in SA.

Jewish community leader Norman Schueler has questioned an accidental likeness to the Hitler salute at Adelaide bus stops. Picture: Salty Dingo

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis immediately asked the department to review the signs: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Schueler urged Adelaide people to visit the Holocaust Museum in Wakefield Street and reflect on the ongoing trauma caused by symbols — deliberate or accidental — which could recall the Nazi murder of 6 million Jewish people.

“It is no accident that Australia has a disproportionate percentage of Holocaust survivors, it was as far as they could get from Europe,’’ he said.

“A fair number of us have families who suffered one way or another, that’s partly why we are so intent on providing education so young people learn this part of history.”

Mr Schueler also welcomed a state government inquiry into whether the surge in Nazi symbols should prompt a ban, as it the case in Germany.

“The proposed legislation is of course welcome, subject to its content and it was a wise choice to have (One Nation MLC) Sarah Game chair the inquiry,’’ he said.